Save Him
by JoeNeal
Summary: After a heated argument Peter leaves and Neal's life turns into a nightmare as he is literally running out of blood in his body. Peter then meets a boy who keeps repeating only two words, 'Save him.' Will Peter be able to find Neal in time..A little Halloween fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! I'm back! Never thought I'd be seeing you guys so soon but I guess I couldn't stay away from you all for long :-)**

 **Before I begin though I have a confession to make.. I don't own White Collar.**

 **...**

"What the hell were you thinking Neal?" Agent Peter Burke growled.

"I was thinking about how to save the sting Peter! And we did save the sting right?" Neal Caffrey, Peter's CI replied in a smooth voice.

"Yeah, we saved the sting but did it even occur in your mind, what the consequences of your actions could have been?" Frustration clear in Peter's voice.

The FBI team had received a lead on a slug counterfeit case. As usual it was decided that Neal go undercover and pretend to be the buyer for those coins. The meeting was set in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Everything was going according to the plan. Neal was doing a very good convincing act of pretending to be the buyer and Peter was in the van with his team as back up.

Everything was going according to the plan that is, until Neal suddenly decided to be a hero. The FBI team had barged in to the warehouse as soon as the deal was struck between the perp and Neal but then the villain had panicked and had taken out his gun in the blink of an eye.

Neal however saw this move and had made a move of his own. Since he was standing in a close proximity of the perp, Neal quickly took hold of the hand that was holding the gun in an effort to snatch it away but then a shot rang out and the bullet whizzed past Neal's temple by mere millimetres and safely lodged in to the wall.

Momentarily both, the villain and Peter's CI were distracted by the sudden shot and Peter and his team had taken the advantage of it and had apprehended the criminal. Agents Clinton Jones and Diana Berrigan had taken him away in the van and had already left for the bureau.

So yeah the sting was successful but Peter was beyond mad. Why the hell didn't the kid stick to the plan. Why did he always have to play hero. What if the bullet had lodged in Neal's skull instead of the wall. What if he had to take his best friend back to the city in a body bag. All these thoughts were making Peter more and more angry at Neal. But apparently Neal didn't think he had done anything wrong.

"Oh come on Peter, its not like I haven't put myself in danger before. It's a part of my job." Neal replied. He was not understanding why the hell was Peter so upset.

"No Neal! Your job is to stick to the plan. There are qualified agents who can risk their lives and save themselves too." Peter gritted his teeth.

"What is your problem Peter? Why are you so edgy?" Neal asked. His temper was quickly flaring too.

"My problem? .. My problem Neal? You are my problem. Why can't you just follow the orders! " Peter was practically shouting now. Inside he was worried, very worried.

Today since the beginning of the day, he had been getting this negative vibes that something bad was going to happen. Then seeing the bullet almost kill his best friend had sent a chill down his spine because he thought this was the bad warning ringing in his head since morning. But he wasn't going to tell Neal about it so he was doing what he could do and that was to get mad at his friend.

"I do follow orders Peter! But you see that guy had panicked and we both know what happens when somebody is panicking, he could have been a danger to us all. I only did what I did because it was the right thing to do." Neal said stubbornly.

Peter sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He was starting to get a headache because of the conversation. He just wanted to go home and relax and wanted this day to be over quickly.

"Whatever Neal. Now just get the hell in the car so I can go home." His voice was very bitter.

Neal's anger only heightened, " You can go Peter. I am an adult and very capable of reaching home on my own."

"Hah! What are you going to do? Walk? Do you have any idea how far are we from the city?"

"I will manage." Neal replied adamantly.

"Suit yourself." Peter growled and then sat in the Tauras, slammed the door hard and sped off. Peter was way to angry at his friend and squashed the tiny little voice in his head that leaving Neal alone wasn't a good idea.

 **...**

Neal stared at the vacant spot where Peter's Tauras was. He really couldn't understand why had Peter reacted the way he did. It wasn't definitely a first time when his life had been in danger. Yes agreed that his friend would always get mad afterwards but he never had lost his temper to this extent. Then what happened today? Whatever happened, Neal decided that he would ask his friend first thing in the morning.

He yawned and then dug his hands in his pockets and stared walking in the hope of catching a cab. He too was really tired now and just wanted to go home and sleep. After walking a couple of minutes, Neal came to a conclusion that he was lost. It's not that he didn't knew the roads of the city well but this part of the city was somehow completely new to him.

Neal walked a few more minutes and then suddenly looking at the decorations, he remembered that today was Halloween's day. He never had celebrated the festival when he was young but he had always liked the idea of it. He had always wished he could go trick or treating and be a proud owner of variety of candies.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden loud thump. He automatically turned to the sound and saw that it had come from behind the heavy trees on his right. He quickly jogged towards the trees and looked beyond them and could see an old house which was looking very fragile. It was decorated with various candles and pumpkins giving it a very eerie look. But that was not what had caught Neal's attention.

In front of the house there was a pick up truck and a couple of men were loading some cartons. One of the carton had slipped from their hands and had fallen on the ground and had split apart. Neal's eyes widened at the items contained in the carton. Being an artist he could easily make out the Matisse.

He made a split second decision. He decided to investigate more about this in detail. He looked around everywhere and then crept stealthily towards the house. The autumn leaves under his boots were making a crunching noise. Damn! He thought but continued padding softly and kept his eyes focused on those men.

He was successfully able to go behind the house without catching the attention of those goons who were busy loading the fallen apart carton. He turned the knob on the door in front of him but as he had expected it was locked. He quickly removed his lock pick set from his pocket and got to work. He heard a click in a few seconds and sighed in relief and pocketed his lock pick set and turned the knob and pushed the door open. It creaked slightly and Neal's heart leaped to his mouth.

He waited a beat, fully expecting those men to come and pounce on him. A few seconds passed but nothing happened except for the rustling of the wind and the leaves. Neal let out a breath of air that he didn't knew he was holding and went inside the house and silently, well as silently as he could if you minus the creaking, closed the door behind him.

The area or room, wherever he was standing was dark. Not entirely dark as the glow from the candles outside was illuminating the entire room but still Neal couldn't see anything clearly. He put his one foot forward cautiously and then another and again brought the first foot forward and that's when he collided with what he guessed was another carton. He clutched his abdomen tightly as pain flared in the area.

'Gotto to find a switch.' He mumbled. He then remembered that it would alert the bad guys if he clicked on the switch. He stood there thinking about what to do so as to not alert the men. He then had a sudden idea. He turned around and headed for the door. He creaked it open and crept out. He then silently grabbed one of the candles that were burning and went inside.

He lifted the candle high enough to illuminate the room and was surprised to see that the room was almost filled with the similar cartons. He quickly made his way to the nearest box and tried opening it with one hand but it was taped. He took a deep breath and again pulled out his lock pick set. He first placed the candle on a nearby box and then removed a small knife from his set and sliced the tape away.

He then pried the box open. He then lifted the candle and shone it over the box to have a clear view of the items inside it. He gasped softly and then whistled.

'Wow! Wait till you see this Peter! You are going to be proud of me.' Neal's entire face was lit up like he had just gotten his treat of candies. The entire box was filled with paintings from famous artists and Neal could easily say that they were original.

It clicked to him that those two guys were smuggling these works of art outside the city. He knew he had to call Peter and inform him so that he could get here with the team asap. He again replaced the candle back and quickly reached into his pocket to remove his cell. His finger was just about to swipe the screen to unlock it when suddenly the room was flooded with brilliant white light.

He instinctively closed his eyes against the sudden brightness and then dread pooled at the pit of his stomach as his phone was viciously snatched away from him and he was roughly turned around.

Neal then opened his eyes, squinting at first but then was finally able to adjust to the light so he opened them wide. He was standing face to face with those two guys whom he had seen outside the house. They both had guns in their hand pointed at Neal.

One of them was around 40 and 50, about 6ft , of stocky and heavy build, with blond unkempt hair, a receding hairline and thick greying stubble. The other one was around 40 and about 5ft 5inch, lean and muscular build with straight brown hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in ages.

Neal swallowed visibly at the sight of these men. How could he have been so stupid. If these men killed him right here right now , nobody will ever know about it. Peter wouldn't even have a clue as to where he disappeared. Leeave these guys, Peter himself will kill him for acting recklessly. But then suddenly he felt relief wash over him.

He remembered that he had his anklet, Peter would definitely find him. His eyes automatically went to the tracker and then his eyes widened and heart stopped beating for a second as he remembered that Peter had removed the tracker just before he had gone to the warehouse. After that they had the argument and Peter had left in anger. Nobody had remembered to put the anklet on. Not that Neal would ever remind Peter about that! But now he was seriously regretting not putting the damn thing back. He was doomed, that was all he could think now.

 **...**

"Did you really think that you could have fooled us?" The larger of the man spoke.

The shorter one replied without giving Neal any chance, " You know what I think Mike?"

"What?" Mike asked his shorter partner but his eyes were fixed on Neal who was trying very hard not to flinch but was failing miserably with each passing second.

"I think, he did take us for fools!" The short guy spoke and then suddenly burst into laughter to God knows what inside joke, Neal couldn't say.

"Shut up Linc! " Linc clamped his mouth shut at his partner's order. Mike then asked Neal,

"What are you.. A cop?"

Neal shook his head and laughed nervously, " Me and cop? You really think I can be a cop? Look at me properly, I'm just a conman, just like you."

Mike cocked his head to his side and appraised Neal from top to bottom which made Neal shudder. The way Mike's eyes roamed over Neal was making the latter extremely uncomfortable.

Mike just kept checking Neal which Neal couldn't take it anymore so he spoke,

"You don't believe me? You can Google it. I am a conman. I was just wandering around and happened to see you guys load the truck. " He paused for the bad guys to absorb his words.

"After that I thought why not take some of your stuff and sell it, you know make money."

Linc seemed to accept what Neal said so he nodded and Neal sagged in relief but then the hairs at the back of his neck rose at the words of Mike.

" You know what? I think you might be saying the truth, but I still don't believe you! I really can't take chances! "

Linc turned to Mike and said, " So that means.." Neal's eyes flicked from Mike to Linc in anticipation of the worst.

"Yes.. That means we do what we always do! "

"Yes, we do what we always do to the ones that come snooping in on our business." Mike replied knowingly.

Neal asked stuttering, " Wh..What do you mean? ..What do you do?" He failed to keep the fear away in his voice.

"It means.." Mike paused dramatically enjoying the fear in his victim..and then gestured towards Linc.. Who only nodded. Neal couldn't understand anything and even before he could ask anything, Linc suddenly came forward and hit the butt of the gun hard on Neal's head.

Stars exploded in front of Neal's eyes even as he felt immense pain in his head, his hand automatically went to touch the area where he was hit and he felt a wet stickiness there. He stumbled forward and then everything went black and he was unconscious even before he hit the ground.

"It means happy Hallowe'en Kid.. You are in for a TREAT!" Mike finished. Linc laughed again hysterically and Mike just shook his head fondly at his partner.

 **...**

Peter Burke was half way to the city. His insides were clenching with each mile crossed. Now that he had been driving since half an hour, his anger had slowly faded away. All he was feeling now was guilt. He shouldn't have left Neal alone at the warehouse. The kid had done nothing but just tried to save the team from the panicked guy.

He really shouldn't have been so angry on his best friend. But he was scared out of his wits when the kid had pulled that stunt. All morning he had this feeling that something bad was gonna happen. But still he had no right to get mad at Neal. He then decided that he would apologise to his friend in the morning when he would come to the bureau.

With the decision made, Peter now concentrated his entire mind on driving. He had driven another mile when suddenly out of the blue he saw a teenage boy standing right in the middle of the road and his car was going to slam right into him. Peter shouted and honked simultaneously, "Hey!"

The teenager didn't move and then Peter frantically hit the brakes and his Tauras came to a halt just a few centimetres away from the boy. Peter burst out of the car and approached the boy.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you see that this is a main road?" Peter asked in anger and frustration. Now that Peter was standing close to the boy, he could see that the boy's skin was deathly white, had blond hair and was probably around 17 and 18. He was wearing a red t-shirt and faded blue jeans.

The boy turned to him and spoke, " Save him! "

Peter asked confused, " What? "

The boy again said, " Save him!"

 **...**

 **Yes, you have guessed it right. This story is for the occasion of Hallowe'en. I hope you guys liked it. Do review and let me know :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankyou thankyou thankyou so much for reading reviewing following and favouriting my story :-)**

 **marJan53, ur story was creepy. Gave me goosebumps, lol!**

 **...**

Neal's eyes flew open. His heart was racing and for a moment he was confused as to where he was. He then remembered the creepy house and the even more creepy inmates of it. His head was pounding viciously and his vision swam. He was trying his damnest hard not to pass out again. He didn't know which one of it was pounding more, his heart or his head.

He tried to automatically bring his hands to press his head in an effort to stop the hammering and that's when he realised that they were tied. He struggled frantically to free them but then groaned in frustration as he realised that they were bound tightly with a rope.

He took a deep breath and willed himself to relax. He slowly became aware of his predicament. Then the panic started to sink in. He realised that he was lying down on a table and his limbs were tied tightly to it by a rope. His jacket was gone, no wonder he was cold. His sleeves were rolled up.

Neal then tried to look around the room in which he was kept. It wasn't the same room that he had entered. There was a window high up, right in line of his vision. Maybe he was in the basement. The room was dark except for the light coming out of the candles placed around him in circles. All this was really creeping him out. He again fruitlessly struggled against his bindings.

Damn! Neal! He cursed himself. Not good! Why the hell and how in the world did he always land in troubles like these. Peter was right! Why did he always have to play hero! He was going to die here and nobody will ever know about it. How will his friend find him or his dead body for that matter? He didn't even have his anklet. But then he scolded himself. Peter had found him before. He always found him. This time too, he will find him. He just had to have a little faith in his friend.

Then the door opened with a creak. Neal stiffened. The sound of the door had come from somewhere upwards so yeah, he was definitely in the basement. The sound of the footsteps coming nearer and nearer made him swallow hard. He closed his eyes to feign unconsciousness. Maybe then the goons will let him be and Peter will come and find him.

"He's still out?" Linc asked. He and his partner Mike were standing next to Neal.

"Well.. Only one way to find that out." Mike replied dryly. He then pulled out a knife from his belt and pressed the tip on Neal's upper forearm and drew blood. Neal's breath hitched at the sudden pain and his eyes burst open involuntarily.

"Well.. We found out, didn't we." Linc said laughing. Neal came to a conclusion right there that the guy was mental.

"Yeah, look who's awake! The cop who says he's a conman. " Mike spoke mocking Neal.

Neal gritted his teeth, " I never lied to you. I'm not a cop. Just untie me and let me go."

Mike clucked his tongue, " Can't do that. Anything else that I can do for you?"

Neal didn't reply. He knew by the looks of the two men that they weren't going to let him go alive.

"Hmm.. I thought so." Mike said.

"Come on Mike, let's get started. I can hardly wait." Linc said impatiently.

"Of course Linc, I too am not interested in wasting our time." Mike replied to his partner but his eyes were glued to Neal.

"What are you going to do with me?" Neal asked apprehensively.

Linc laughed again, " We are going to have fun boy!" Neal's heart skipped a beat. Definitely he was not looking forward to seeing what kind of fun they had in store.

"You know, the last victims of ours survived a whole day. But the ones before them , they weren't so lucky. Poor guy couldn't even last for more than two hours." Mike said to Neal as if they were discussing weather.

Neal was trying hard to suppress a shudder but was failing. He was cursing himself again in his mind. Why the hell such things always happened to him.

" You know my friend is an federal agent. He will know that I am missing and then he will find me , he always does. And when he does, you are going to regret meeting me." Neal said in one last try to free himself from the clutches of these two mad men.

Linc again laughed. " We don't fear the law kid!" He then faced Mike and spoke again, " Come on now."

Mike nodded and looked at Neal coldly. " Brace yourself kid, this is going to hurt. "

Neal once tried to loosen the bonds but they didn't budge. He then looked at Mike with fear. The latter pressed the knife again in the same spot where he had pressed before and pierced the knife into the skin deeper than before and dragged the knife horizontally leaving the trail of blood in its flow. The gash was deep and blood was oozing out of it.

Neal cried out in pain. His skin was buring were the knife had passed. Linc laughed at the sight and then came to the opposite side of Mike and removed his own knife and pressed the tip of it on Neal's left arm. Neal's eyes met his and he smirked evilly. Neal knew what was about to happen but he didn't waver his gaze from Linc to give him any satisfaction.

Linc only continued laughing and dug the knife into the soft skin of Neal and dragged it the same way as his partner. Neal bit his lip hard which began to bleed to stop himself from crying out in pain again.

Both Mike and Linc repeated the same process. The sliced Neal's skin three to four times. Neal had clenched his eyes shut. Tears were leaking from them. He was so angry at himself as he did not want those guys to think that he was weak but the pain was getting worse with each cut.

They had carved four horizontal lines on each of his arm. They were pretty good at this sick game of theirs. Neal's blood was flowing freely but he wasn't going to die outright. But he knew if he didn't get out of here then he definitely wasn't going to see tomorrow's sun.

Both Mike and Linc stepped back a little and admired their work. Neal's blood was dripping on the floor and the sound of it hitting the floor was like music to them,' drip drip drip.'

"You know, it would be fun to see how long do you last. How much blood leaves your body before you finally succumb to death."

"I am enjoying this so much Mike! Look at him, he's trembling in fear." Linc said smiling viciously.

Neal opened his eyes and stared hard at his tormentors. Even if he was going to die, he was not going to do anything to please them. ' Go to hell!' He whispered.

Mike shook his head, " It seems that you are already on the way to hell kid! Or.. Heaven is it?" Neal didn't reply.

"You are going to bleed to death here. We are going back upstairs and will be back in fifteen minutes and if I see that blood has stopped flowing then I will slice more of your skin and continue doing that until your body has no blood left! " Mike said. Neal only stared.

Linc nodded in agreement with Mike. He then came forward and pulled out a piece of rag and tied it over Neal's mouth. " Just can't let you scream for help now, can we?" Neal cursed himself yet again for not shouting for help before.

Then both Mike and Linc left Neal alone in the dark and cold basement. Neal started to struggle again to free himself from the ropes but it only drew blood on his wrists. Great! More blood. As if it wasn't enough already. He stopped struggling and lay there listening to his own blood making a puddle on the floor, ' drip drip drip' . He then desperately wished that Peter would come out of nowhere and save him but he knew that was not going to happen, Peter wasn't coming, he must've been already asleep in his warm and cozy bed. But still .. His heart hoped for that miracle, that Peter come and find him like he always did and save him.

 **...**

Peter Burke burst out of the car and trotted towards the teenager. Now that he was standing next to him, Peter could take a good look at him. The boy's skin was deathly white. He had wavy blond hair and was probably around 17 and 18. He was wearing a red T-shirt and faded blue jeans.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you see that you are standing in the middle of the main road?"

The boy turned to Peter and said, " Save him."

Peter frowned in confusion, " What?" Seriously the kid couldn't have said what he heard.

The boy repeated, " Save him."

"Save who? " Peter looked around in all direction but he couldn't see anybody else other than him, the kid and his Tauras.

The boy didn't answer and only stared at Peter. "Its really late now son, what are you doing here and where do you live?"

The teenager kept looking at Peter and repeated, " Save him."

Peter patiently asked again, " Save who? Is anybody of yours in trouble? I'm an FBI agent, I can help you, just tell me everything clearly."

Peter looked at the boy expectantly but the boy remained silent. Peter sighed. "Look kid, you obviously want me to save somebody but I don't see anyone else here. Can you please tell me whom do I have to save?"

"Save him." The boy's words were filled with worry, there was this urgency in them that Peter felt compelled to help the boy but the kid was not making any sense.

Peter shook his head, " I don't get it, you don't make any sense to me. Who are you talking about? And please don't..don't repeat the words again."

The kid remained unresponsive. Peter was now getting annoyed with him. He wished that his friend Neal was here with him now. Neal was good with kids. Peter was sure he would have been able to get through the kid. But Neal wasn't here and he was seriously thinking that the kid's upper floor was empty and for a moment he thought of leaving the kid and getting the hell out of there and go home and sleep.

But then he knew he just couldn't do that. He couldn't leave the kid all alone there. What if his parents were searching for him. He then decided to take the teenager with him to the bureau and search for his whereabouts there.

"Alright, you know what? Why don't you come with me. I will take you to the bureau and then your parents can take you home from there, okay!"

The boy looked at Peter like he had gone crazy. He then frantically shook his head. He definitely wasn't going to the bureau, he had a life to save. So once again he spoke with determination, " Save him."

Now Peter looked at the kid like he was the one who was crazy. He then decided to play along. He knew that if he didn't do something quick then he will go mad. He spoke,

"All right! I will _save him_. Since I don't see anybody here , I guess that person who you are talking about is elsewhere, right? "

The kid finally did something Peter had never expected him to do , he nodded.

Peter sighed in relief, at least he finally made some progress. He then asked the boy, " Do you know where he is? I mean the person you are talking about? Do you know?"

The boy again nodded and spoke, " Save him." Peter could see that the boy was now pleading.

Peter nodded, " Okay, okay, I will save him, but you will have to help me alright." The boy gave him a slight nod and Peter continued, " Can you take me where this person is?"

The teenager nodded and to Peter's surprise he started walking towards the drivers seat. " Whoa! Hold it, kid! I will drive and you guide me to the place."

The boy just stood there next to the door and crossed his arms, as if challenging Peter to deny him from driving. Peter was slightly taken aback by his gesture but he wasn't going to allow any stranger drive his Tauras.

"You go sit on the passenger side and I will drive, you just give me the directions alright." The boy shook his head and opened the door and sat inside the car even before Peter could do anything about it.

Peter was mad now. He growled, " You kidding me? Get out of the car now! " The boy didn't budge but started the engine and waited for Peter to sit on the other side of the car.

Peter muttered a curse and walked to the other side of the car and sat heavily on the passenger seat. " Get over with it! I don't have all night." He was starting to think that this was a mistake. What if this was some kind of a prank. Again his mind told him to tell the kid seated next to him to get out of his car so that he could go home.

The kid nodded and turned the car around and sped off. Peter was confused at this. He had come from that direction only and he hadn't seen anyone who might be needing help. Where was this kid taking him? Then he suddenly remembered that he never asked the kid's name.

"Hey, what's your name? You never told me."

The boy just concentrated on the driving and stared ahead on the road. Peter sighed in frustration. Boy! How did Neal do it? If his friend was here he would have been able to know the birth history of this kid. Thinking about Neal, Peter suddenly felt his gut clench. Again the negative vibes he had been feeling returned with full force.

He pulled out his cellphone and then his finger hovered over his friend's name. He debated whether he should give him a call or not. Was he able to hire a cab? Would he be still angry with him? What if he was still angry? No.. He was not in the mood to face his friend's wrath now. Peter then decided against calling him and replaced the cell back and concentrated on the road ahead.

 **...**

Neal felt cold. Very cold. His dizziness had also worsened. His headache was also not helping things. His breathing had become shallow too. The coppery smell of his blood was making him nauseous too but he had swallowed the rising bile. It was getting hard not to give into the darkness calling him. He couldn't make out if the blood was still flowing or it had stopped. He couldn't make out if the 'drip drip drip' of his blood had stilled or not but he just didn't care.

He didn't know how much time had elapsed. Five minutes, maybe ten, he just couldn't tell. He still hoped that by some miracle Peter find him out and save him.

 **...**

Peter's face screwed up in confusion. The kid was driving on the same road and going in the same direction from where he had been coming back, the warehouse. Was someone there who needed help? Had the perp kidnapped someone and kept him hidden in the warehouse? Or was it somewhere else? These questions were giving him a headache.

Suddenly his mind went to his friend Neal. 'Oh my god!' Was Neal in some kind of danger? No..no that couldn't be. He must have hired a cab and by now must be in the city. But he had to be sure. He pulled out his cell again and quickly called his friend. It began ringing and kept ringing, ringing and ringing but Neal never answered. Damn Neal!

Peter tried again and again but his friend never answered his call. He turned towards the boy next to him and asked in a fearful voice,

"It isn't Neal, is it?" Peter never cared about whether the kid knew who Neal was. He just needed someone to say that his friend was safe. Anyone.

The boy took his eyes off the road and spoke, " Save him." His voice was filled with so much anguish that Peter felt his eyes burn but he blinked quickly to clear them. He prayed to god that whoever he was going to save, it wasn't his friend Neal.

 **...**

The door then creaked open and in came Mike and his partner Linc. They approached Neal and saw that he was having difficulty in keeping his eyes open. Mike's eyes went over to cuts and saw that the bleeding had slowed to a trickle. He then eyed the puddle. The kid had lost lot of blood but he didn't think that it would kill him very soon though. He pulled out his knife again and called out to Neal.

"Wakey wakey kid!"

Neal's eyes fluttered. He was having difficulty in concentrating on anything. He looked at Mike in confusion. He couldn't recognise him, he tried hard but just couldn't remember who he was. He simply blinked lazily at him

Mike and Linc both shared a cruel smile. If the kid was confused, then definitely he was going into shock. Just a few more cuts and he would be history.

"Time for another dose kid!"

Mike then pushed the knife again into Neal's arm. This time he dug the knife on his upper arm and dragged the blade and blood started flowing in its wake. He brought down the knife again and pressed the tip a little lower. He dragged the knife again but then stopped suddenly as a voice rang out,

"FBI...FREEZE!"

 **...**

 **Halloween special: shortest horror story:**

 **I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, "Daddy, check for monsters under my bed."**

 **I look underneath for his amusement and see him..another him, under the bed, staring at me quivering and whispering, " Daddy, there's somebody on my bed."**

 **...**

 **One more chapter to go :-)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A million million thanks to all those who are reading this fic :-)**

 **...**

Peter Burke's stomach turned to ice as the kid seated beside him drove nearer to the same place where he and Neal had parted ways, or if put bluntly, to the same place where in his anger, Peter had left Neal alone. But the kid was safe right? He must have reached home and must be sound asleep. No need to worry about him. But his gut feeling was telling him against it. The silence was suddenly suffocating him. He dialed his friend's number again but still Neal didn't reply. Maybe he was asleep. He knew the teenager would never return his talks but still Peter felt if he didn't shatter the silence then the terror which was gripping him strongly with each passing second would make him go crazy.

"How much further?" He asked, never expecting an answer and he was right because the boy just kept driving and never answered. After another mile or so, the car took a left turn and Peter saw a creepy looking house standing at a few distance. There was a pickup truck parked on its left.

The boy parked the car next to the truck and got out. Peter too followed him. They both walked towards the truck. The boy gave the car keys back to Peter and stood there silently.

Peter saw that the truck was half filled with cartons. He then turned to the boy and asked,

"This is the place? You want me to save somebody here?"

The boy nodded and pointed towards the door of the house, " Save him!"

Peter nodded and climbed inside the truck as he decided to check it out first and opened one of the boxes and his eyes widened. The box was filled with different paintings. Definitely something sinister was going on in here. He jumped out of the truck and pulled out his gun and gestured the boy to follow close behind him.

...

Peter entered the house to find that it was some kind of living room that he was standing in. He crept forward to search the area. He thoroughly searched the rooms but came empty. Nobody was there in those rooms. He then came into the kitchen. It was empty too but looking at the counter, Peter saw two empty glasses and a half drank bottle of liquor. He also saw a few cigarette buds and one of them still burning. Somebody had definitely been here minutes before.

His eyes then fell upon the basement door. He then heard some distant noises. Somebody was in the basement. He turned the knob and slowly opened the door. He then turned around to tell the kid to stick close to him but he was surprised when he saw that he was all alone in the kitchen. Maybe the kid was scared and decided to wait outside. Peter thought. He turned to the basement again and stealthily went inside.

...

As he neared to the bottom, Peter could make out two men talking to someone. Reaching further close, Peter's eyes widened when he saw that one of them had a knife and was pushing it into somebody who was on the table. Without wasting any more time, he shouted,

"FBI..FREEZE!"

Both of the guys turned around on hearing Peter's voice. Surprise written all over their faces.

Peter shouted again, " Drop your weapons! Drop them now!" His eyes were trained on those guys, so he didn't bother to look at the person lying on the table. For now.

Mike and Linc looked at each other but didn't drop their weapons. Mike came a little forward and spoke, " You really think you can scare us?" He then quickly went on the opposite side of the table and pressed the knife to the exposed neck of his victim. "Try that now." He said menacingly.

Peter got to see the face of the person who was strapped to the table for the first time since his arrival down there. He gasped and was frozen to the ground. The person strapped to the table was non other than his friend Neal!

"Neal!" All those negative thoughts had turned into reality. Neal was here. His friend was not looking good.

Neal didn't reply. His mouth was covered with a piece of rag. He seemed to be awake but he didn't acknowledge Peter that he had heard him and that worried Peter.

He quickly recovered and before the criminals could guess what he was going to do, he fired the shot and the bullet hit Mike's shoulder who cried out in pain and automatically let go of the knife which clattered to the floor and he crumpled down in a heap clutching his wounded shoulder.

He then walked up to Linc, waved his gun and spoke, "Untie him! Now! " Linc quickly nodded and removed Neal's bindings and stood there waiting for Peter's next instructions.

"Tie up your partner with one rope, quick! " Peter ordered. Linc again complied and quickly tied his friend. Mike was shooting daggers at Peter but the latter ignored him. Peter then came near him and gave another rope to Linc and asked him to tie himself up too.

After he made sure that the bad guys were tied up tightly and they weren't any threat to him or Neal, Peter quickly came and stood at the head of his friend. He then gently removed the rag and spoke softly,

" Hey Neal! " Peter then let out a horrified gasp as his eyes went towards Neal's bloody hands. The room was dark so Peter hadn't been able to see them before. He then shut his eyes in shock at the puddle formed on the floor which could have only been his friend's blood.

"Neal.. It's me." Peter opened his eyes and called again.

Neal's eyes fluttered and he turned his head to the voice. "Peter?.." He asked in confusion. What was his friend doing here and even bigger question, what was he doing here and where was he? And why the hell was he so cold.

"Yes..Neal..it's me Peter." Peter smiled in relief as Neal recognised him. He then quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around his friend's right hand securely to stop the bleeding. He then looked around to find something else to wrap around on the other hand.

He saw that both the bad guys were glaring at him murderously but he ignored them and found Neal's jacket lying on the floor in the corner of the room. He quickly retrieved it and wrapped Neal's other arm with it. He then checked out for any other injuries but didn't find any.

"Neal..hey! Look at me. Keep your eyes open, alright!" Peter ordered his friend gently.

Neal's eyes met Peter again and Peter saw that they weren't focused. He felt his friend's pulse and found that it was weak, Neal's breathing was shallow too. He knew he had to take Neal to the hospital and that too quick. He then decided not to waste any time waiting for the ambulance.

He quickly pulled out his cell and called Diana and gave her the directions to the house and told her to come with the team asap. He wanted to get Neal the medical help as soon as possible but he also didn't want the criminals to escape too.

He then slid his left arm under Neal's back and the other under his friend's knees and carried him in a bridal style. Neal's head was pressed to Peter's chest. He opened his eyes a little more wider,

"Peter?.. What are.. Are you doing here?" He stuttered. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult and everything was spinning. The pain in his chest was increasing and he was shivering too.

"I am here trying to save you.. I am sure you tried to play hero again!" Peter replied bitterly as he couldn't help but be angry at his friend. How could Neal be so careless. Why didn't he think before leaping into actions. Why didn't he think about the people who cared for him.

Neal's face became sad, " I'm sorry.." He whispered. He didn't know what he had done, he was seriously confused but if Peter was mad then definitely it must be his fault.

Peter's heart froze at his friend's apology. Neal's voice was so innocent. He shouldn't have been harsh on his friend. " I.. It's okay Neal. Come on let's get you out of here. " Neal nodded and closed his eyes and rested his head on Peter's shoulder.

"No, Neal.. Keep your eyes open." Peter admonished him gently. To his surprise Neal complied and opened his eyes and stared at his friend in confusion.

Peter smiled, " That's like a good boy." He then carefully climbed up the stairs and walked out of the house with Neal in his arms. He could see that the kid was having a difficulty in keeping his eyes open and was shivering more than before.

He shifted Neal's weight slightly and opened the passenger side of the door of his Tauras and gently manoeuvred Neal into the car and strapped up the seat belt.

"Hold on , Neal, you are going to be okay!" He then quickly ran to the other side of the car and sat inside and turned the heater on. He then drove off in search of a nearest hospital.

Peter never saw the red T-shirt clad teenager standing behind the car smiling in relief as the car sped off to the hospital.

...

Peter was driving since ten minutes but so far he hadn't spotted any hospital. He was getting more and more worried. He glanced towards Neal who again had his eyes closed, Dammit!

"Hey Neal, you are sleeping!" He scolded his friend.

Neal opened his eyes automatically hearing Peter's voice. He turned his head to his left and saw Peter who was very blurry.

" I am not sleeping.." He slurred.

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not.. Can if you could just remain silent." He mumbled but Peter heard him. Peter smiled despite himself. Trust Neal to wisecrack even in this situation.

"Sorry kid, just a little longer okay, then you can sleep, just a little longer."

"My head hurts and feels woozy.." He stammered each word. Peter's eyes

widened. Was the kid hurt in the head too? He brought his right hand to touch Neal's head and winced and Neal groaned in pain when he found a nasty bump on the latter's head. The blood had dried but Peter couldn't say how bad it was.

"You are going to be alright Neal." Peter said to his friend but didn't know if he was saying it to convince his friend or himself.

Peter then concentrated on the task at hand. He had to find a hospital and very soon. He turned to Neal again. The poor kid was struggling with his injuries and Peter couldn't do anything to help him.

"Neal.. Eyes open please.."

Neal didn't respond this time and Peter's fear spiked. He gently tapped Neal's face with his right hand, " Neal.. Buddy.. Neal!"

Neal's eyes fluttered. He mumbled, " Hate Halloween.."

Peter knew Neal was in shock because of the blood loss and that's why he was talking about things which made no sense and maybe because it was indeed Halloween today, his friend was talking about it, so he asked ,

"Why do you hate Halloween , kid?"

Neal remained silent and Peter thought that he was unconscious again but then Neal whispered,

"Never got the candies.." Peter's heart skipped a beat. He had loved the festival when he was young. Dressing up and going trick or treating was always fun. And the candies were the best part of it all. He never realised that Neal might have never gotten that chance.

He rubbed a hand on his face and thought if Neal didn't get medical treatment soon then he wouldn't be able to see the festival again. He prayed that he find a hospital soon. Another fives minutes passed and Peter's worries were lessened a little as he finally saw a building that looked like a hospital.

...

Peter parked his car haphazardly and sprang out of the car after telling Neal that he'd be back with help and ran inside the building. He was greeted by two _zombies_ and Peter for a wild second thought that he had entered some kind of cemetery and not a hospital.

Upon closer inspection Peter realised that indeed it was an hospital and the zombies were non other than the staff. It was Halloween's night and for some crazy reason the hospital had decided to blend in with the festival. Even the hospital was decorated with Halloween theme. But Peter didn't have time for that. Neal's life was in danger.

"There's a kid in my car. He's lost a lot of blood. Please. " Peter spoke to the two zombies. They nodded and quickly moved to work. They wheeled out a stretcher and went to Peter's car and quickly but gently removed Neal from inside and laid him on the stretcher. Neal's eyes were closed and remained that way even though Peter kept calling his name.

The two _zombies_ quickly wheeled Neal into the recovery room. Now that they were in the brightly lit hospital, Peter saw that the jackets wrapped around Neal's hands were soaked in blood. He sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room and prayed for his friend.

...

Peter was still seating on the chair with his head laid back and eyes closed when someone approached him. He opened his eyes and found a Frankenstein standing right in front of him. For a moment he thought he was trapped in some kind of a nightmare but then Frankenstein smiled and spoke,

"Hello, my name is Frank Allen ( seriously, like for real? Peter thought ), I'm the doctor that has been treating the patient that you brought in."

Peter was out of the chair in a flash. His heart was beating fast. He wanted to ask how Neal was but was scared of it. The doctor must have sensed his worry so he spoke again,

"The patient will be fine." He smiled. Peter immediately relaxed. The doctor then gestured Peter to take a seat who obliged and the doctor himself sat on the chair next to Peter.

"The patient.." He paused and his eyes roamed over the file in his hand. " Neal?"

Peter nodded, "Yes, Neal.."

"Neal was brought in here with heavy blood loss. He also had gone into shock and his body temperature had also declined. His blood pressure was very low. He is also mildly dehydrated. We have started replenishing the lost blood by way of transfusion and have also registered fluids to combat dehydration. Neal has also been given high doses of antibiotics and other medicines to fight off infection. "

"Anything else Doctor?"

"His heart was weakened because of the shortage of blood so we have also administered doses of dopamine to increase the heart's strength to pump blood. " Peter nodded.

" Neal had several knife wounds on his both hands. We were able to clean them and have wrapped them in bandages. With time they should heal completely without any scarring. He also has a mild concussion. He has a small open gash at the back of his head. We have treated it. That might be the reason of concussion. But I really don't think it's serious. "

Peter couldn't be more thankful than this. Yes Neal's injuries were bad but he was going to be okay and that was all that Peter had wanted.

"When can I see him , Doctor?"

"He's still unconscious. We will be shifting him in to a private room in half an hour. You can then see him there. "

Peter nodded again, " Thank you so much Doctor."

"Well.. It's always good to deliver good news to the patients loved ones specially at the times of festivities. "

Peter smiled, " Definitely, Doctor! "

" He's unconscious now but I believe he will wake up in an hour or so. I will then perform some tests to confirm that he has only suffered concussion and nothing serious than that." Peter nodded.

" But I am confident that Neal will make full recovery. Now if you will excuse me." He started to get up from the chair but then stopped, " I read his file. For a CI , you seemed more worried, Mr. Burke."

"Umm.. Yeah well, he's my CI and I am his handler but .. Gradually we became friends, good friends..hmm.." Peter faltered.

"Best friends too..."The doctor supplied. " You have this look in your eyes, you know, the way you are worried about him, if I didn't know any better then I would have thought that Neal was your son." The doctor finished.

Peter frowned. His relationship with Neal was very complex but if he believed his heart he knew, he loved the kid like a best friend, a younger brother and a son he never had. But right now he only answered, " Yeah.. Um... It's complicated."

The doctor only smiled. He then got up to take his leave. Peter was then left alone with his thoughts. He laid his head back again and closed his eyes. They suddenly burst open as Peter suddenly remembered the teenager who had taken him to Neal.

Where was the kid? Why didn't he see him outside the house? Main question of them all was who was he?

...

Peter entered Neal's room and padded softly towards him. He was shocked to see how pale his friend was looking at present. The many wires and machines attached to Neal also weren't helping. He placed his hand over Neal's and rubbed gently with his thumb.

"God..Kid! How do you manage to get yourself into these things is beyond me." He couldn't help but feel how small his friend looked.

"Get well soon buddy." He quickly blinked away the tears. If it wasn't for that boy Peter was sure his last memory of Neal would have been their fight. He really didn't think he would have been able to live with that. He really wished he could be able to thank the teenager.

Peter sighed and sat on the chair next to Neal's bed. He was going to stay here and wait for Neal to wake up. El was out of town so it wasn't that anybody was waiting for him at home. But if he'd be honest with himself then he wouldn't have left Neal alone no matter what reason.

...

Peter must have dozed off because he felt someone shaking his shoulder gently in an effort to wake him up. He opened his eyes and groaned slightly and blinked a few times to will away the sleep. He then suddenly remembered Neal,

"Neal!" He jumped from his chair to check Neal but Diana's voice stopped him,

"He's still sleeping Boss."

Peter's eyes flicked from Neal to Diana. After making sure that his friend was indeed asleep he turned to his probie,

"When did you come?"

"Just now Boss. We captured those two guys." Peter nodded feeling relieved. They had tortured Neal, they had to be where they deserved to be.

"Where in the world did Caffrey find them? Those two are on number one position of FBI's most wanted. Those two are not only smugglers but also cold blooded murderers. They had been caught last year but escaped prison as soon as the verdict was given. "

Peter was shocked to hear all this information about those criminals. What would have happened if that kid hadn't led him to that house.

"Do you have their files with you right now?" Peter asked.

"Yup.. Got them right here. Thought you could use some spare time."

Peter nodded. Diana then looked at Neal's sleeping form and asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

Peter nodded, " Yes.. He will be fine. Though I must say it was a close call."

Diana nodded, " Don't tell him this, but I kinda like when he's awake and full of energy. He maybe a pain but kind of used to seeing him around."

Peter smiled. Even though Diana never admitted, he knew his probie had respected Neal very much. "Wouldn't want him to add another one to the list of his followers, right! "

Diana laughed, "See you boss. " Peter nodded and then she took her leave and Peter once again settled on the chair with the files on his lap. He glanced at Neal. He ws still unconscious. He wished that his friend wake up soon so that he could murder him personally for acting so rashly.

...

Peter was shocked to read the files of Mike and Linc. They both were not only partners in crime but also brothers. They were involved in all kinds of illegal activities. They were famous for the cold blooded murders they had committed. They had killed more than a dozen people the same way they had planned on killing Neal too.

Peter was now looking through the list of their victims. Against each name, there were pictures of the victims too. Peter's eyes widened as he stared at one picture. The picture was of the same teenager who had helped him save Neal.

Peter was shell shocked. He kept staring at the picture. How was it possible? He had met the boy just a few hours ago. Definitely he couldn't have been dead, could he? And if he was dead then how did Peter meet him? Why had the kid helped him in saving Neal?

He then began reading to gather more information about the kid. The kid's name was Nick Walters. Apparently he and his best friend named Carlton Morris had accidentally stumbled upon Mike and Linc's illegal activities and both had died in the same manner Peter was about to witness Neal's death. Peter shuddered at the thought. He looked at the picture of Carlton, the kid was about the same age as Nick, had brown hair and was clad in a blue sweater and black jeans.

He dropped the files on to the table next to him and quickly walked over to Neal. He just stared at the kid for long seconds. Just relieving in the fact that his friend was alive and he was going to be okay. His hand instinctively went to caress Neal's hair. His eyes watered and he didn't even try to wipe them away. He could have lost his best friend today and that thought made his heart ache in a way that Peter never had experienced.

He quickly erased such negative thoughts from his mind. Neal was here and he was alive and that was important, "Don't you ever do that again kid! He said to Neal still caressing his hair. Neal never replied but continued to be in oblivion. Peter sighed and turned around to go back to his chair and was frozen on the spot.

There standing right in front of him was the teenager in red T-shirt, Nick Walters. He was smiling contently. Peter continued to stare the kid a little more but then soon he was out of his trance and asked, though he was sure the kid won't say anything,

"Why?" The question was simple but the answer warmed Peter's heart. It even surprised him as the kid finally talked something else.

"I couldn't save my best friend but I figured that at least I should save yours." The kid was still smiling and Peter automatically returned the smile if only wider.

"Thank you." Peter said earnestly. The kid smiled and disappeared into thin air.

A low moan from behind caught Peter's attention and he quickly turned around and saw bright blue eyes staring at him. Peter was elated and he rushed to his friend and also pressed the call button to inform the doctor.

"Hey Neal! "

Neal smiled slightly and was about to answer when suddenly the door opened and in came Frankenstein, that is, Dr. Allen.

"I see the patient is awake." The doctor said smiling. Neal nodded and then the doctor checked him thoroughly and spoke again,

"Well, everything seems perfect Neal.. I will just have to perform some tests to confirm that the concussion you suffered hasn't affected your brain."

"Well I am sure that you won't have to worry in the department doctor, I doubt Neal has brains in this head of his." Peter joked and Neal pouted. The doctor laughed.

"Well.. I will have to see it for myself, right? .. I will send a nurse in so that she can take you for the MRI." Neal and Peter both nodded and the doctor left.

Peter then turned to Neal and saw that his friend was trying to say something so he came near him and gently gripped his hand and leaned towards him,

"What is it kid?" He asked concerned.

"Why..why is Frankenstein.. Treating ..me..." Neal asked confused.

Peter laughed heartily, if Neal was making jokes then definitely he was going to be alright.

"It's a long story kid, you get well soon and I will explain it to you later. "

...

Neal was wheeled back into his room after the tests. He found Peter seated in the chair next to his bed. The nurses laid him back on his bed and attached the IVs and then left after checking him thoroughly.

Neal closed his eyes. He was very exhausted from the trip and just wanted to sleep. After a few seconds of silence he spoke, " Stop staring at me like that Peter, I'm not going to drop dead."

Peter was surprised at the husky whisper. He didn't know how did Neal know that he was staring at him concerned.

"I was not staring.." Peter replied lamely.

"Okay, then stop appreciating the view." Neal whispered hoarsely.

Peter sighed, " How are you feeling kid?"

Neal opened his eyes and smiled tiredly, " I am fine Peter.."

"I am so sorry Neal, I should not have been angry at you. It was unreasonable."

"It's okay Peter. I do have a knack of landing into troubles without even trying it." Neal said. He remained quiet for a few seconds before speaking,

" Thank you for coming when you did Peter!" His eyes were shining brightly.

Peter squeezed his friend's hand gently, "I had to come Neal. You know I always find you, right." Peter's voice was soft.

Neal nodded but then asked , " How did you know where to find me?"

Peter smiled, " For now , let's just say that there are angels watching over you."

Neal was confused at this but he decided to let go of the subject right now. Later he would ask Peter again.

"Hey.. There's something for you." Peter said brightly after a few moments of compatible silence.

Neal frowned in confusion, " What is it Peter? "

Peter bent slightly and retrieved a basket full of candies from under the bed and presented them to Neal.

" These are for you..kid"

Neal was pleasantly surprised, " Peter?..what?"

"Well.. Somebody had told me that he hated Halloween so I decided to make cheer him up this year.."

Neal was still staring at the candies widely and then his face broke into a stunning smile. " Thank you so much Peter!" He didn't know how Peter knew about his feelings regarding Halloween but right now he was just too happy.

"Anytime kid..." Peter laughed at the sight. Neal looked at a five year old kid right now. His heart swelled in affection for the kid. Instinctively he came forward and wrapped Neal in a warm hug.

" Happy Halloween kiddo!"

Neal only nodded as he did not trust his voice. He was so happy right now. This was the best Halloween he ever had. Of course if you could minus the near death experience.

"So I do get some of these candies right?" Peter asked

"No ways.." Neal shook his head.

Peter laughed again, " At least one?" Neal shook his head again..

...

Both the friends were so engrossed at teasing each other that no one noticed two teenagers standing beside them smiling widely at them.

One was wearing a red T-shirt and the other a blue sweater..

...The End...

...

 **Until next time... See ya all :-)**


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